Taras Kuzio
Russia’s war against Ukraine has transformed Ukraine into the world’s leading defense innovator (see EDM, November 8, 2024, October 5, 2025). In 2023–2024, aerial and sea drones became central to Ukraine’s defense against Russian military aggression (see EDM, August 18, November 15, 2023, March 11, August 13, October 8, 2024). In 2025 and into this year, Ukraine has been launching and expanding the production and use of ground drones—Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs, often referred to as “robots”) (see EDM, October 25, 2025). Production will be scaled this year, lowering cost per unit. Ukraine plans to produce upwards of 20,000 units in 2026 (The New Voice of Ukraine, January 7).
In March 2025, United24 Media wrote, “Ukraine is among the global leaders in ground robotic systems. No other military has its level of real combat experience. Foreign tech solutions can be impressive, but the real test is battlefield performance, not theoretical capabilities” (United 24 Media, March 3, 2025). Lyuba Shipovich, a technical entrepreneur who returned to Ukraine from the United States to launch the Dignitas defense company, said, “Ukrainian engineers are creating the future of warfare, not just for Ukraine, but for the world” (Euromaidan News, August 19, 2025). As of April 2025, according to an expert at the Ukrainian government-backed defense company Brave1, 55 Ukrainian UGVs had been codified to NATO standards (The Telegraph, April 22, 2025).
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